HISTORICAL    MAGAZINE, 


T  March, 


9&f 


IV.— THE  GOSPEL  PIONEER  IN  WEST- 
ERN NORTH  CAROLINA. 
By  Professor  E.  F.  Rockwell. 

The  wise  man  asks,  "what  can  the  man  do 
"that  cometh  after  the  King  ?  even  that  which 
"hath  been  already  done." 

The  same  may  be  asked  in  regard  to  the 
labors  and  researches  of  Doctors  William 
Henry  Foote  and  E.  W.  Caruthers,  in  gather- 
ing and  recording  facts  and  traditions  connect- 
ed with  the  early  history  of  North  Carolina,  and 
especially  that  of  the  Presbyterian-church 
therein. 

But  we  think  that  some  other  things  of  in- 
terest can  be  gleaned  with  regard  to  one  name 
that  filled  a  prominent  place  in  our  church,  a 
little  more  than  a  century  ago — the  name  of  one 
who  was  diligent  and  active,  "in  labors  more 
"abundant,"  from  1715  to  1753,  but  who  dis- 
appeared from  public  view,  and  sank  into  the 
grave  almost  unnoticed  and  unknown  in  this 
then  wilderness,  and  not  a  stone  tells  where  he 
was  buried. 

We  refer  to  the  first  Missionary  and  Gospel 
pioneer  in  Western  North  Carolina,  Rev.  John 
Thompson,  who  traversed  this  region  before  the 
days  of  McAdden,  McWhorter,  Spencer, 
Craighead,  etc. 

He  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  came  to  New- 
York,  as  a  licentiate,  with  a  family,  in  1715. 
Soon  after,  he  went  to  Lewes,  in  Delaware,  and 
was  ordained  there,  in  1717.  After  a  few  years, 
for  want  of  support,  in  1729,  he  went  to  New- 
castle in  the  same  State,  and  remained  there 
only  till  1732,  when  he  removed  to  Chestnut 
Level.  In  1739,  being  appointed  by  Donegal 
Presbytery,  to  itinerate  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia, 
he  visited  that  region. 

A  call  for  his  labors  was  presented  to  his  Pres- 
bytery, by  the  congregation  of  Opequhow,  and 
he  requested  a  dismission  from  his  charge  to 
remove  to  Virginia,  but  his  request  was  not 
granted ;  nor  was  he  released  till  1744,  when  he 
made  his  home  in  the  Valley,  being  entrusted 
with  the  charge  of  missionary  operations,  in 
Western  Virginia.     In  fulfillment  of  the  duties 


of   his  office,   this  same  year,  he,   for  the  first 
time,  visited  North  Carolina. 

This  must  have  been  after  May,  of  that  year; 
for,  in  the  Records  of  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia, 
we  find  that  "a  representation  from  many 
"  people  of  North  Carolina,  was  laid  before  the 
"Synod  showing  their  desolate  condition, and  re- 
'  'questing  that  Synod  would  take  their  estate  into 
"consideration,  and  petitioning  that  we  would 
"appoint  one  of  our  number  to  correspond  with 
"them.  Ordered,  that  Mr.  John  Thompson 
"correspond  with  them."  What  part  of  the 
State  this  petition  came  from,  does  not  appear : 
in  this  part  of  it,  the  first  settlements  began 
between  1740  and  1750:  in  Jones's  Defence,  it 
is  said  that  the  first  settlers  in  Mecklenburg 
came  in  1750.  Mr.  Foote  says,  "Scattered  set- 
"tlements  were  made  along  the  Catawba,  from 
"  Beattie's  Ford  to  Mason's,  some  time  before 
"the  country  became  the  object  of  emigration 
"to  any  considerable  extent,  probably  about 
"the  year  1740.  *  *  *  "By  1745,  the  settle- 
"  ments,  in  what  is  now  Mecklenburg  and  Cabar- 
" rus-counties,  were  numerous;  and,  about  1750, 
"and  onward,  for  a  few  years,  the  settlements 
"grew  dense  for  a  frontier,  and  were  uniting 
"themselves  into  congregations."*  It  is  prob- 
•able,  then,  that  the  evangelist  visited,  at  that 
time,  people  who  petitioned  in  Counties  farther 
North  and  East,  which  would,  naturally,  be  first 
occupied ;  although,  Wayne,  Franklin,  Caswell, 
Rockingham,  etc.,  according  to  Doctor  Car- 
uthers, were  not  settled  till  about  1750.  t 

But  he  also  says  that;  "From  1745  to  1758, 
"the  two  Synods  of  Philadelphia  and  New- 
"York  appointed  missionaries  frequently  to 
"North  Carolina,  as  well  as  to  the  other  Prov- 
inces of  the  South."  Mr.  Thompson  did  not 
probably  remain  long  on  that  visit — Mr.  Foote 
says  that  he  was  here  at  the  time  of  his  appoint- 
ment; and  he  is  recorded  absent  from  Synod, 
that  year.  That  he  was  a  prominent  member 
of  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia,  appears  from  his 
being  appointed  on  important  Committees  to 
prepare  papers,  conduct  correspondence,  etc. 
Thus,  in  1738,  he  was  on  a  Committee  to  draft 
a  letter  in  reply  to  a  letter  from  the  Synod  in 
Ireland.  At  the  same  Session,  he  was  on  a  Com- 
mittee to  draft  instructions  for  another  Com- 
mittee to  wait  upon  the  Governor  of  Virginia 
to  procure  the  favor  and  countenance  of  the 
Government  of  that  Province,  in  behalf  of  the 
Presbyterian  settlers  in  the  back  part  of  it. 
He  was  on  the  commission  of  Synod,  in  1739; 
and  attended  most  of  the  meetings  of  Synod 
to  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1753. 

He  had  no  unimportant  share  in  the  division 


*  Sketches  of  North  Carolina,  201. 
t  Life  of  Caldwell,  93. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2013 


http://archive.org/details/gospelpioneerinwOOrock 


1874.1 


HISTORICAL     MAGAZINE. 


145 


of  1741,  into  what  was  called  "  The  Old  side" 
and  "  The  New  side."  He  took  an  active  and, 
''in  some  respects, "  says  Doctor  Hodge,  "a  very 
"mistaken  part  in  opposition  to  Mr.  Whitefield 
"and  Mr.  Tennent;  yet  no  one  can  read  his 
"  writings  without  being  impressed  with  re- 
"spectfor  his  character  and  talents.  And  it 
"is  a  gratifying  fact  that  Mr.  Tennent  himself, 
"after  the  excitement  of  controversy  had  sub- 
"  sided,  came*  to  speak  of  him  in  terms  of  affec- 
"  tionate  regard.  Indeed,  were  nothing  known 
"of  these  men  but  their  controversial  writings, 
"the  reader  could  hardly  fail  to  think  that,  in 
' '  humility,  candor,  and  Christian  temper,  Mr. 
"  Thompson  was  greatly  superior  to  his  oppo- 
nent."* He  published  several  discourses 
and,  in  1741,  a  pamphlet  on  Church  Govern- 
ment, which  was  answered  by  Rev.  Samuel 
Blair,  of  New  Londonderry,  Pennsylvania.  Of 
this  answer — called  A  Vindication  of  those  opposed 
to  Mr.  Thompson, — we  have  a  copy.  In  1742,  he 
published  a  sermon  on  the  Nature  of  Conviction 
for  Sin  and,  in  1749,  An  Explication  of  the  Shorter 
Catechism.  Of  this  latter,  we  have  often  heard, 
in  the  country  above  us,  but  have  never  seen  a 
copy :  in  Webster's  History  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  one  is  spoken  of  in  the  hands  of  Rev. 
B.  M.  Smith,  D.D.,  at  Union  Seminary,  Virginia. 

His  descendants,  in  this  region,  have  a  tradi- 
tion that  he  published  something  for  the  special 
benefit  of  his  daughters,  of  whom  he  had  three, 
his  wife  having  died  early.  They  probably 
allude  to  this  Catechism.  An  old  gentleman  in 
this  vicinity  speaks  of  it  as  well  known  here,  in 
early  times,  and  in  common  use. 

And  here,  as  the  sentiments  of  the  quotation 
are  so  valuable  in  themselves ;  and  as  it  serves  to 
show  both  the  talents  0*f  the  man  and  his  piety, 
we  cannot  forbear  to  insert,  in  this  article,  an 
extract  from  his  work  on  Church  Government, 
made  by  Doctor  Hodge,  in  his  History  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  with  his  introductory 
remarks  :f 

"As  it  has  become  common  to  speak  in  very 
"disparaging  terms  of  this  gentleman  [Rev.  J. 
"  Thompson  |,  and  as  he  seems  to  have  been  a 
"really  good  man,  it  is  a  pleasure  and  honor 
"to  be  allowed  to  vindicate  his  memory.  This 
"can  best  be  done  by  letting  the  reader  see 
"how  he  spoke  of  the  state  of  religion  in  our 
"church,  and  of  the  duty  of  ministers,  before 
"the  convulsion  which  unhappily  tore  the 
"church  asunder.  In  these  reflections,  after 
"  describing  the  confusions  and  divisions  which 
"had  begun  to  prevail,  he  says  to  his  brethren; 
"  'This  matter  belongeth  unto  us  in  a  special 
"'manner  —  firstly,    by    virtue    of    our    office 

*  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  Part  I.,  Pages  152,  159. 
t  Ibid.  Part  I,  pp.  160.  161. 


"'and  station;  and,  again,  because  we  have 
"  'had  a  guilty  hand  in  bringing  in  the  evil, 
"  'we  should,  therefore,  strive  and  endeavor  to 
"  '  have  a  prime  and  leading  hand  in  healing  and 
"  'removing  it.  In  order  to  this,  I  think  these 
"  'things  are  undoubtedly  incumbent  on  us: 
"  'First,  that  every  one  of  us  endeavor,  with  an 
"  'impartial  severity,  to  examine  and  look  back 
"'upon  our  past  conduct  and  behaviour,  as 
"'Christians  and  as  Ministers  of  the  Gospel, 
"  'calling  and  setting  our  consciences  to  work, 
"'to  compare  our  past  behaviour  with  the 
"  'divine  law,  which  is  holy,  spiritual,  just,  and 
"'good;  weighing  ourselves  in  the  balances 
"'of  the  sanctuary,  with  the  same  exactness 
"  'with  which  we  expect  to  be  weighed  by  our 
"'holy  and  impartial  Judge,  that  we  may  be 
"'convinced  how  far  we  have  come  short  of 
"  'our  duty,  even  of  what  we  might  have  done, 
"  'as  Christians  and  Ministers,  for  the  glory  of 
"  '  God,  our  own  and  others'  salvation :  and,  es- 
"  'pecially,  how  far  we  have  come  short  of  that 
"  '  exemplary  piety,  circumspection,  and  tender- 
"'ness  of  walk,  and  spiritualness  of  converse 
"  'with  others,  which,  as  Ministers  of  the  Gospel 
"'of  Christ,  we  should  have  studied,  as  also 
"  'how  far  we  have  failed  in  degree  of  love, 
"  '  care,  zeal,  and  tender  concern  for  the  souls  of 
"  '  men. 

"  '2.  Another  thing  incumbent  on  us  is,  that 
' ' '  whatever  our  consciences  lay  to  our  charge  in 
"  '  these  matters,  we  confess  the  same  before  the 
"  '  Lord,  and  bewail  them  with  grief  and  sorrow 
"'of  heart,  in  deep  humiliation,  earnestly  pray- 
"  '  ing  for  pardon :  and  resolving  in  the  strength 
"  'of  divine  grace,  to  amend  and  reform  all  we 
"  'find  wanting  or  amiss  in  these  or  any  other 
' ' '  particulars,  resolving  still  to  grow  in  th  e  exer- 
"  'cise  of  every  grace  and  the  practice  of  holi- 
"  'ness. 

"  '  3.  Another  thing  incumbent  on  us  is,  that 
' ' '  we  labor  to  be  possessed  of  an  earnest  care  and 
"  'concern  for  the  salvation  of  our  own  souls; 
"'and  particularly  to  make  sure  of  a  work  of 
"  'grace  and  regeneration  in  our  own  hearts,  so 
"  '  as  never  to  be  at  ease  and  quiet  without  some 
"  'comfortable  evidence  of  it,  in  the  discernible 
"  '  exercise  of  grace  in  our  hearts,  together  with 
"  'the  suitable  genuine  fruits  of  holiness  in  our 
"  '  lives. 

"  '  4.  Let  us  earnestly  labor  to  get  our  affections 
"  'weaned  from  the  world,  and  all  sublunary 
"  'things,  and  to  set  them  on  things  above,  that 
"  'our  love  to  God  and  to  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
"  '  our  concern  for  his  glory,  in  the  faithful  per- 
"  'formance  of  duty,  or  the  promotion  of  the 
"  'kingdom  of  grace,  by  the  conversion  and  edi- 
"  'fication  of  souls,  may  so  employ  and  take  up 
"  '  our  thoughts  that  all  world-interests  may  ap- 
" 'pear  but  empty  trifles  in  comparison  with 


146 


HISTORICAL    MAGAZINE 


[March, 


"  'these  things'  "  *  *  *  *  "  'There  is  a  great 
"  '  difference  between  preaching  the  Gospel  that 
"  'we  may  get  a  living,  and  to  desire  a  living 
"  '  that  we  may  be  enabled  to  preach  the  Gospel. 
"  'And  happy  is  that  minister  who  is  enabled 
"  '  cheerfully  and  resolutely  to  do  the  latter,  and 
"  'truly  and  effectually  to  avoid  the  former. 

'  •  '  5.  Another  thing  to  be  endeavored  by  us,  is 
"  'to  strive  to  suit  our  Gospel  ministrations,  not 
"  'so  much  to  the  relish  and  taste,  as  to  the 
"'necessities  of  our  people;  and,  in  order 
"  'thereto,  to  endeavor  by  all  proper  means  to 
"  'be  acquainted  with  their  spiritual  state,  as 
"  'far  as  practicable,  by  us:  that,  knowing  their 
"  '  diseases  and  wants,  we  may  know  how  to  suit 
"  'our doctrine  thereunto.  And  particularly  we 
"'should  endeavor  to  bend  our  forces  and  to 
"  'use  our  best  skill  to  suit  the  prevalent  dis- 
"  '  temper  of  this  carnal  and  secure  age.  striving 
"  '  with  all  our  might  to  rouse  secure  sinners  and 
"  'awaken  them  out  of  their  sleep;  and  drowsy 
"'saints  from  their  slumber  and  carnal  se- 
"  '  curity.  For  this  purpose,  we  should  not  only 
"  '  assert  and  maintain  the  necessity  of  regenera- 
'"  'tion  and  converting  grace,  and  of  a  righteous 
"  '  and  godly  walk,  and  of  increase  and  ad  vance- 
"  'ment  therein,  but  also  endeavor  to  press  the 
"'same  home  upon  their  consciences  with  all 
"'earnestness,  as  if  we  saw  them  perishing 
"'and  would  gladly  be  the  means  of  their 
"  '  deliverance. 

"  '6.  It  would  also  contribute  not  a  little  to 
"•'promote  and  revive  a  work  of  grace,  if  we 
"' could  effectually  revive  congregational  dis- 
"  '  cipline,in  order  to  convince  sinners  and  make 
"  'them  ashamed  of  their  scandalous  outbreak- 
"'ings.  For  I  am  afraid  that  most  of  us  are 
"  '  too  lax  and  remiss  in  this  matter,  so  that  the 
"  '  highest  privileges  of  Christ's  church,  I  mean 
"  'external  privileges,  are  too  often  given  to 
"  'such  whose  conversation  is  very  unsuitable 
"  'to  them.' 

"These  few  extracts,"  says  Doctor  Hodge, 
"will  show  the  spirit  of  the  work,  and  the 
"manner  in  which  the  ' notorious  Thompson,' 
"  thought  and  wrote  on  these  subjects.  Such  a 
"man  does  not  deserve  to  have  his  name  cast 
"out  as  evil." 

In  1745,  he  and  Messrs.  Alison,  Steel,  Griffith, 
and  McDowell  were  appointed  on  a  Committee 
to  draw  up  a  plan  of  union  to  be  presented  to 
the  Presbytery  of  New-York.  This  was  pre- 
sented, and  we  have  it  in  the  records  of  the 
Synod  of  Philadelphia  for  that  year;  but  it 
proved  unsatisfactory  to  the  New-York  brethren ; 
who  proposed  to  erect  an  independent  Synod. 
The  same  Committee  was  appointed  to  draw  up 
an  answer  to  this  proposal — they  did  so,  made 
their  report,  which  was  " approve?!." 

At  the  same  meeting,  he  was  also  appointed  on 


other  important  Committees ;  where  he  was,  for 
the  next  few  years,  does  not  appear. 

At  the  meeting  of  Synod,  in  1/49,  a  Thompson 
was  present;  but  it  was  probably  Samuel,  for,  in 
the  course  of  the  Session,  the  delegates  of  the 
Synod  of  New- York  were  present  and  conferred 
with  them  about  a  plan  of  union,  and  it  was 
' '  ordered  that  Mr.  Griffith  write  to  Mr.  Thomp- 
"son,  in  Virginia,  on  this  head,"  though  his 
name  is  not  recorded  among  the  absentees.  He 
was  present,  in  May,  1750,  and  was  appointed  on 
a  Committee  to  settle  some  difficulty  at  Brown 
Meeting-house,  in  Virginia ;  and  also  to  loose  an 
obligation  of  marriage  rashly  entered  into  be- 
tween a  young  man  and  woman ;  the  former  of 
whom  was,  it  seems,  culpable  in  the  matter,  and 
by  order  of  Synod,  was  publicly  admonished  by 
Mr.  Thompson.  It  appears,  from  the  records  of 
the  next  year,  that  he  did  not  fulfill  his  appoint- 
ment in  Virginia,  and  was  excused.  He  was 
absent  from  the  Fall  meeting  of  that  year ;  but 
was  in  attendance,  for  the  last  time,  on  the 
twenty-seventh  of  May,  1752,  when  his  "last 
"year's  absence  was  excused  for  indisposition." 
On  the  twenty-fourth  of  May,  1753,  it  is  re- 
corded that.  "The Rev.  Messrs.  John  Thompson 
"and  Hugh  Conn  died  since  our  last  Synod;  " 
and  no  further  notice  is  taken  of  his  death. 

He  is  disposed  of,  in  Sprague's  Annals  of  the 
American  Pulpit,  in  a  note  of  about  ten  lines  in 
length. 

We  have  mentioned,  some  distance  back,  that 
he  had  three  daughters  :  one  of  these  was 
married  to  a  Rev.  Mr.  Zanchey,  who  lived  at 
Buffalo,  Prince  Edward,  Virginia.  Another  to 
Roger  Lawson,  who  removed  from  Iredell- 
county,  then  Rowan,  North  Carolina,  to  Georgia, 
the  ancestor  of  Roger  Lawson  Gamble,  a  man 
of  some  prominence  in  that  State,  a  few  years 
ago,  and  a  connection  of  Judge  Hugh  Lawson 
White,  of  Tennessee.  A  third  one,  but  the  order 
of  their  ages  is  not  known,  by  the  name  of. 
Elizabeth,  was  married  to  a  Mr.  Baker,  one  of 
the  oldest  settlers  on  Davidson's-Creek,  in  the 
lower  end  of  Iredell-county,  and  in  what  was 
afterwards  Centre  Congregation,  near  the  road 
from  Salisbury  to  Lincolnton,  by  Beattie's  Ford, 
and  about  five  miles  from  the  latter. 

Now  it  appears  from  the  traditions  of  the 
country,  that  he  came  out  here  to  the  house 
of  his  son-in-law,  in  the  Summer  of  1751,  which 
explains,  in  part,  why  he  was  absent  from  the 
Fall  meeting  of  Synod,  in  September  of  that 
year.  He  was  the  first  Minister  of  the  Gospel, 
probably,  of  any  denomination,  who  visited  this 
region,  to  preach.  It  is  supposed  that  became 
at  the  solicitation  of  Moses  Winslow,  George 
Davidson,  and  other  settlers  on  the  same  Creek, 
in  the  vicinity  of  his  son-in-law,  who  had 
known    him  in  Pennsvlvania.     The  latter  was 


1874. 


HISTORICAL    MAGAZINE. 


147 


living,  in  1751,  near  the  ford  on  that  Creek,  on 
the  road,  by  Centre  Church,  to  Statesville.  He 
seems  to  have  come  out  here  for  the  purpose  of 
remaining;  and  hence  it  is  difficult  to  under- 
stand a  statement  in  Foote's  Sketches  of  North 
Carolina,  page  213,  where  he  speaks  of  "Mr. 
"  Patillo  and  another  young  man,  who  had 
"engaged  to  go  to  Pennsylvania,  and  commence 
"their  studies  under  the  care  and  tuition  of  the 
"  Rev.  Mr.  John  Thompson,  who  was  at  this  time 
"[1751]  in  Carolina  on  a  mission  to  the  new 
"settlements.  While  waiting,  in  the  Summer 
"of  1751,  for  Mr.  Thompson's  return  from 
"  Carolina,  the  young  man  who  had  engaged  to 
"go  with  Mr.  Patillo,  to  Pennsylvania, 
"abandoned  the  design  of  preparing  for  the 
"ministry."    . 

Like  the  prophet  of  old,  travelling  to  the 
mount  of  God,  the  old  man  having  fought  a 
good  fight  and  contended  earnestly  for  the 
faith,  in  the  Middle  States  and  Virginia,  took 
his  staff  and  came  to  lay  a  foundation  where 
others  had  not  been  before  him. 

An  anecdote  is  told  of  his  travelling,  from 
Prince  Edward,  here,  on  foot.  At  some  house, 
where  he  lodged,  he  inquired,  in  the  morning, 
how  his  horse  had  fared  during  the  night. 
The  lady  of  the  house  replied  that  he  had 
fared  very  well,  she  knew,  for  she  had  fed  him 
with  her  own  hands.  He  said  to  her,  "Do  not 
"tell  me  a  falsehood,  my  good  lady,  for  that  is 
"all  the  horse  I  have,"  pointing  to  his  staff. 
While  here,  he  visited  the  new  settlements 
around,  within  a  radius  of  twenty  miles,  from 
home.  He  had  a  stand,  as  it  is  called,  for 
preaching,  at  William  Morrison's,  near  Concord- 
church,  on  Third-creek,  six  miles  North-west  of 
Statesville  ;  another  in  the  bounds  of  what  is 
now  Fourth-creek-church  ;  another  in  Third- 
creek  congregation :  another  at  Cathey's  Meet- 
ing-house, (Thyatira)  ten  miles  from  Salisbury: 
another  where  was  Osborne's  Meeting-house ; 
another,  just  below  Davidson  College,  a  little 
-to  the  right  of  the  road,  near  the  lower  end  of 
the  village,  as  you  go  South,  where  is  now 
standing  a  large  poplar  tree,  (liriodendron) 
about  twenty  feet  in  circumference,  a  little  above 
the  ground,  beneath  which,  according  to  tradi- 
tion handed  down  by  old  men,  they  had  preach- 
ing in  the  first  settlement  of  the  country;  and 
some  commenced  burying  their  dead  there, in  ex- 
pectation of  a  church  being  erected  on  the  spot. 
Probably,  he  had  another  stand  further  South,  in 
the  region  of  Hopewell  and  Sugar-creek 
Churches.  It  is  said  that  he  went  on  his  cir- 
cuit on  horseback,  prepared  to  encamp  when- 
ever night  overtook  him;  hoppling  his  horse 
and  turning  him  loose  to  feed  upon  the  abun- 
dant and  luxurious  pea-vines  which  continued 
green  nearly  all  winter. 


People,  in  these  new  settlements,  went  great 
distances  to  his  appointments ;  sometimes,  it  is 
said,  he  had  twenty  infants  to  baptise  at  one 
service. 

He  made  these  circuits,  and  justly,  sources  of 
profit  to  himself,  by  looking  out  and  having 
surveyed  for  himself,  tracts  of  the  best  land, 
which  he  conveyed  to  his  friends  for  a  small  con- 
sideration, as  they  emigrated  hither.  The  deed 
from  him,  for  a  tract  of  six  hundred  and  forty 
acres,  on  Fifth-creek,  about  five  miles  East  of 
Statesville,  to  the  father  of  the  Rev.  James 
Hall,  D.D.,  is  in  our  possession,  witnessed  by 
his  daughter,  Elizabeth  Baker.  Nine  pounds, 
Virginia  currency,  is  the  consideration  mention- 
ed in  this  deed — about  thirty  dollars.  In  it, 
mention  is  made  of  two  other  tracts  surveyed  for 
him,  on  the  same  Creek.  The  date  is  February, 
1752.  The  place  where  Colonel  Thomas  A. 
Allison  now  lives,  on  Fourth-creek,*  three  miles 
from  Statesville,  was  surveyed  for  him,  in  1751. 
We  have  spoken,  above,  of  his  making  his  home 
with  his  son-in-law,  Baker ;  but  the  latter  was 
not  a  man  of  such  habits  as  to  be  always  agree- 
able society  to  the  aged  preacher,  for  we  must 
suppose  that  he  was  at  least  sixty  years  old,  by 
1753;  and  he  had  a  cabin  built  a  little  distance 
from  the  house,  in  which  he  spent  most  of  his 
time,  when  at  home.  And,  at  length,  where  he 
studied  and  prayed,  there  he  died ;  and  where 
he  gave  up  the  ghost,  there,  under  the  floor  of 
his  cabin,  as  in  the  case  of  the  great  impostor, 
Mohammed,  "he  was  piously  interred,  by  the 
"hands  of  his  nearest  kinsman,  on  the  same 
"spot  on  which  he  expired."  t  And  where  he 
was  buried,  there  he  will  be  raised,  at  the  last 
day ;  but  no  one  now  knows  the  very  place — no 
monument  was  erected — an  old  lady,  Mrs. 
White,  who  died  a  few  years  ago,  could  point 
out  the  part  of  the  grave-yard  in  which  he  was 
laid;  but  not  the  exact  spot.  This  was  the  be- 
ginning of  what  is  known,  in  the  country,  to  this 
day,  as  Baker's  grave-yard — one  of  the  oldest  in 
this  region.  The  matter  of  building  a  church 
near  the  spot  seems  never  to  have  been  agitated  ; 
though  it  is  a  very  uncommon  thing  for  Presby- 
terians to  deposit  their  dead,  except  where  there 
is,  or  there  is  expected  to  be,  a  church  erected. 
But  most  of  the  families,  in  the  neighborhood, 
began  to  bury  by  the  side  of  the  grave  of  the 
man  of  God ;  and  they  have,  in  many  cases,  con- 
tinued to  do  so,  until  the  present  day,  though 
it  is  not  on  any  public  road,   and  a  stranger 

*  These  creeks  are  affluents  of  the  South  Yadkin,  and  are 
reckoned  First,  Second,  Third,  Fourth,  Fifth,  going  West  from 
Salisbury. 

t  Student's  Gibbon,  465.  It  is  said  that  Doctor  James  Muir 
of  the  District  of  Columbia,  was,  at  his  own  request,  buried  in  a 
grave,  thirteen  feet  deep,  under  his  own  pulpit. 


148 


HISTORICAL    MAGAZINE. 


[March, 


might  pass  along  quite  near  it,  without  knowing 
the  vicinity  of  the  sacred  spot.  The  names  of 
Brevard,  Winslow,  Wilson,  Connor,  McConnel, 
Givens,  Lawson,  White,  etc.,  are  here  found 
on  the  monuments. 

This  daughter,  who  married  a  Baker,  had  a 
family  of  five  children ;  and  her  husband  died 
soon  after  her  father.  One  of  her  sons  inherited 
the  farm,  and  occupied  the  homestead,  for  a 
time ;  when  he,  with  other  members  of  the 
family,  migrated  to  the  South-west.  At  the  close 
of  the  late  War,  some  young  men,  who  had  been 
in  the  Army,  in  Virginia,  descendants  of  the 
family,  came  through  the  country  to  visit  the 
old  spot,  cunabula  gentis,  of  which  nothing  now 
remains  but  the  cellar  of  the  original  dwelling- 
place,  the  house  being  transferred  to  the  opposite 
side  of  the  Creek. 

Mrs.  Baker  can  hardly  have  remained  long  a 
widow,  for  she  married,  for  her  second  husband, 
Charles  Harris,  of  Cabarrus-county,  and,  in  addi- 
tion to  her  former  family,  had  two  sons. 
The  elder  of  these,  Samuel  Harris,  went  to 
Princeton-college,  and  was  graduated,  there,  in 
1787;  taught  school,  for  a  time  afterward,  in 
the  Clio  Academy,  in  Iredell-county,  North 
Carolina ;  returned  to  Princeton,  and  officiated 
as  Tutor  in  the  College,  where  he  died  in  1789. 
The  second  son,  Charles,  was  born  in  1762,  and 
became  the  late  Dr.  Charles  Harris,  a  physician 
of  great  repute  in  his  day — the  father  of  the 
present  Charles  J.  and  William  Shakspeare 
Harris,  who  are  among  the  most  respectable 
citizens  of  the  County.  Mr.  Hairis  died  on  the 
fourth  of  July,  1776,  and  his  wife  a  few  weeks 
afterwards. 

It  seems  strange  that  a  man  of  so  much  talents, 
piety,  and  usefulness — so  prominent  in  the 
history  of  the  Presbyterian-church,  in  this 
country — should  thus  have  passed  out  of  view, 
and  the  very  place  of  his  burial  remain  so  long 
unknown.  Webster's  History  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  quotes  Dr.  Alexander  as  saying,  "He 
' '  lies  in  Buffaloe  "  [  Va  ?]  ' '  graveyard,  without  a 
"stone."  Mr.  Foote,  the  author  of  Sketches  of 
North  Carolina,  when  preparing  that  volume, 
seems  not  to  have  known  the  place,  though  he 
must  often  have  passed  along  the  public  road, 
within  a  short  distance  of  it — a  cultivated  field 
lies  between  it  and  the  road  leading  from  Salis- 
bury to    Lincolnton. 

Rev.  Messrs.  McMordie  and  Donaldson  were 
sent  out  by  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia,  in  1753, 
with  special  direction  to  pay  attention  to  the 
vacancies  in  North  Carolina,  between  the  Yadkin 
and  Catawba-rivers.  This  would  exactly  cover 
the  ground  occupied  by  Mr.  Thompson.  That 
year,  Rev.  Hugh  McAdden  was  graduated  at 
Princeton-college;  and,  in  1755,  he  was  licensed 
and  came  through  this  region  of  country,    on 


a  missionary  tour — he  kept  a  journal  of  his 
travels  and  of  the  places  he  visited,  a  part  of 
which  is  given  in  Foote's  Sketches. 

From  this,  we  learn  that  he  passed  South,  and 
returned  again,  within  two  miles  of  Mr.  Thomp- 
son's grave ;  lodged  repeatedly  in  the  neighbor- 
hood ;  preached  at  some  of  the  same  places  as 
Mr.  Thompson,  in  his  circuit,  yet  makes  no 
allusion  to  his  predecessor,  who  had  so  recently 
died.*  But  we  presume  that  most,  if  not  all,  the 
missionaries,  who  came  to  build  onhis  foundation, 
were  men  who  sympathised,  in  opinion,  with  the 
New-side  ;  while  he  was  the  hated  and  maligned 
leader  of  the  Old.  The  troubles  of  the  Indian 
and  French  War,  for  a  time  occupied,  a  good 
deal  of  attention;  there  were  no  religious  news- 
papers ;  and  few  papers  of  any  kind  were  publish- 
ed in  the  country.  Soon,  also,  the  disturbances 
and  calamities  of  the  old  Revolutionary  War 
came  on. 

Born  by  the  side  of  the  river  Foyle,  in  the 
North  of  Ireland,  where  he  first  opened  his  eyes 
on  the  world,  he  closed  them,  in  the  wilderness, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Catawba:  an  ocean  rolls 
between  his  cradle  and  his  grave,  the  emblem 
of  his  stormy  life.  Ireland  gave  him  birth ; 
Iredell-county  a  grave ;  the  heavenly  Jerusalem, 
a  final  rest. 

E.  F.  R. 
Statesville,  North  Carolina. 


